美國精神正能量何存? 美國體操女隊的啓示
Where can you find reasons to feel truly positive about the American spirit today? That is a question that many voters might be asking themselves after the long 2016 race.
今天你在哪裏還能真正感受到美國精神的正能量？在漫長的2016年大選後，許多選民或許正在問自己這個問題。
For while the contest ended this week with a victory for Trump, it seems unlikely to bring a close to all the polarisation and acrimony; on the contrary, most pundits fear that America is more polarised now than ever before, with a poisonous mood.
儘管大選已經以特朗普的勝利落幕，但這似乎不太可能給極化和尖刻態度畫上句號；相反，大多數評論人士都擔憂美國現在比以往任何時候都更加極化，整個社會瀰漫着一種有毒的情緒。
Last week, though, I discovered one little flash of joy — and hope — in an unexpected place: the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, where I took my daughters to watch a performance of the US Olympic women’s gymnastics team.
然而，最近我在一個意想不到的地方發現了一點喜悅——和希望：紐約布魯克林的巴克萊中心(Barclays Center)。我帶着我的女兒們到這裏觀看了美國奧運體操女隊的表演。
The Final Five — as Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Madison Kocian and Laurie Hernandez call themselves — delivered a stunning performance at the Rio Games, reaping a historic nine medals.
自稱終極五人組的西蒙娜.拜爾斯(Simone Biles)、加比.道格拉斯(Gabby Douglas)、阿利.雷斯曼(Aly Raisman)、麥迪遜.科齊安(Madison Kocian)和勞麗.赫南德斯(Laurie Hernandez)在里約奧運會用令人驚歎的表演歷史性地斬獲了9枚獎牌。
Unsurprisingly, their performance at the Barclays Center was exuberant and impressive, with somersaults, gravity-defying leaps, bar routines — and rousing images of the American flag.
豪不意外，她們在巴克萊中心的表演充滿活力，令人印象深刻——空翻、挑戰重力的跳躍、槓上動作，以及激動人心的美國國旗的畫面。
So far, so cheering.
這一切都令人歡欣鼓舞。
But what really grabbed my attention was not the physical contortions — it was the atmosphere in the auditorium.
但真正吸引我的注意力的不是她們的動作——而是觀衆席上的氛圍。
The Final Five is a strikingly multiracial group, with African-American (Biles and Douglas), Caucasian (Kocian and Raisman) and Hispanic (Hernandez) gymnasts.
終極五人組是一個醒目的多族裔組合，其中包含非裔美國人（拜爾斯和道格拉斯）、高加索種白人(科齊安和雷斯曼)和西語裔人（赫南德斯）。
The audience at the Barclays Center was a mix too, seemingly from all boroughs and backgrounds, rich and poor (many tickets were distributed at subsidised rates).
巴克萊中心的觀衆也混合了多種族裔，他們似乎來自紐約各區和各種背景，既有富人，也有窮人（很多票是以補貼價分發的）。
Nobody in the hall gave a damn about whether the gymnasts were black, brown, white or blue; they shrieked with pleasure in a colour-blind way.
沒人在乎這些體操運動員的膚色是黑色、棕色、白色或者任何什麼顏色；他們高興地尖叫，對不同的膚色一視同仁。
This was an America united, not divided by racial slurs or anger.
這是一個團結的美國，沒有被種族主義詆譭或者怒火撕裂。
Better still, for a blissful few hours, that gym mat even drowned out gender battles.
更棒的是，在快樂的幾個小時中，體操墊也讓性別之爭湮沒無聲。
Like many parents in America, I have spent the past few months wondering how to raise young girls to feel strong and confident in a political culture that has become infused with rows about sexism, sexual harassment and feminism.
像很多美國的父母一樣，過去幾個月我一直在思考如何撫養年幼的女兒們，讓她們能夠在當前這種充斥着有關性別歧視、性騷擾和女權主義的紛擾的政治文化下自強自信。
Should you stop kids watching TV in case they hear vulgar language?
是否應該不讓孩子看電視，以免他們聽到粗俗的語言？
(As I did for the second political debate.) Or should you, instead, talk openly about sexual harassment? (As I have tried to do.)
（在第二場總統候選人電視辯論的時候，我就是這麼幹的。）或者，你是不是應該公開談論性騷擾？（我嘗試這麼做了。）
And even if you can sidestep the political cycle, what do you do about all the other appalling images that bombard girls today on social media, such as vapid YouTube stars or pouting, hyper-sexualised icons like Rihanna and Miley Cyrus?
就算你能繞開政治週期，對於現在社交媒體上鋪天蓋地涌向女孩子的令人驚駭的圖片，你又能做些什麼呢？比如那些乏味的YouTube明星，或者像蕾哈娜(Rihanna)和麥莉.賽勒斯(Miley Cyrus)那樣撅着雙脣的超級性感的偶像？
There are no easy answers.
對此，沒有簡單的答案。
But, as I watched those five gymnasts twirl on the mat, I realised that they offer a refreshing counterpoint.
但是，當我看着那5個體操運動員在體操墊上旋轉的時候，我意識到她們提供了一個令人耳目一新的對比。
Are they wholesome? Yes, as far as anyone can tell.
她們是不是健康正派？是的，至少在觀衆眼裏是如此。
Do they demonstrate discipline and ambition? Undoubtedly: if you want to teach a kid about triumph in the face of adversity, Biles’s life story is a good place to start: she overcame the challenges of a very tough childhood to win five Olympic medals.
她們是否展現出自律和雄心？毫無疑問：如果你想要教一個孩子戰勝逆境，拜爾斯的人生故事是一個好的開始：她克服了一個非常艱難的童年帶來的挑戰，贏得了5枚奧運獎牌。
Do the Final Five create a positive body image? Surprisingly, yes.
終極五人組是否創建了一個正面的身材形象？令人驚訝的是，答案是肯定的。
When I was growing up, many female gymnasts seemed to be emaciated waifs.
在我長大的年代，許多女性體操運動員看起來像是瘦弱的流浪兒童。
But the US Olympic women’s team has all types of builds, and each of them seems utterly comfortable in her own skin, projecting an image of strength and confidence.
但美國奧運女子體操隊的成員們有各種各樣的體型，每一個人都輕鬆自在，展現出力量和自信。
Or, as my daughters declared on our way home after the show: They are awesome, awesome, awesome! Every other family around us in the subway carriage seemed to agree.
或者，就像表演結束後，我的女兒們在回家的路上說的：她們棒極了，棒極了，棒極了！在地鐵車廂裏，我們周圍的其他每一個家庭似乎都認同這一點。
Of course, some readers may point out that sport is not real life; they might also observe that it’s easier to create this harmonious blend in relatively privileged corners of the US, such as New York.
當然，一些讀者可能會指出，體育不是現實生活；他們或許還會指出，在美國的一些相對優越的地方，比如紐約，更容易營造這種和諧的融合。
Perhaps so.
或許如此。
But the reason I am sharing this experience is this: at a time when so much poison is swirling around the political landscape — and pundits everywhere are wailing about uncertainty in the US — we also need to celebrate the parts of our cultural life that are truly great, at least in terms of upholding the American spirit.
但我分享這段經歷的原因是：在現在這個政治生態被如此之多的毒藥圍繞的時期，在各路評論人士都在哀嘆美國的不確定性的時期，我們也需要歡呼我們的文化生活中真正偉大的那些部分，至少從弘揚美國精神的角度上是這樣。
When we finally got home, I was quietly thrilled to see my daughters put a poster of the Final Five above their beds.
我們終於到家後，看到女兒們把一張終極五人組的海報掛在牀頭，我暗自感到振奮。
To them, this is merely an expression of hero(ine) worship.
對她們來說，這只不過是對（女）英雄崇拜的一種表達。
To me, it seems like a little talisman to ward off a wave of sexism, racism and hate.
對我來說，這就像是一個能夠抵禦性別歧視、種族主義和仇恨的小小護身符。
Perhaps we should send Donald Trump down to the gym mat too; if nothing else, it might force him to ponder a better vision of the mighty US of A.
或許我們應該讓唐納德.特朗普(Donald Trump)也到體操墊上；即使沒有其他作用，那或許能夠迫使他思考一個強大的美利堅合衆國的更美好願景。
